Board of Governors shows support for Thorp

There's a new vote of confidence for UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp as the latest scandal unfolds at the university. The latest incident involves travel records and the mother of former basketball star Tyler Hansbrough.

However, the topic was noticeably absent from the day's official business with the UNC Board of Governors, but ABC11 talked to two board members to get their reaction.

Board of Governor's member Paul Fulton said he was satisfied with how Thorp has handled the latest scandal to rock the university. On Sunday, chief fundraiser Matt Kupec resigned amid allegations of improper travel expenses.

"Losing Matt Kupec is a blow and is disappointing," said Fulton. "He was a great fundraiser but our donors are extremely loyal to the university."

Also involved in the scandal is fundraiser Tami Hansbrough, who is the mother of a former Tar Heel star athlete. She turned in her resignation Wednesday.

Thursday, board members carried on with regular business during the several committee meetings that took place inside the Spangler Center. Thorp and UNC Systems President Tom Ross were present for part of the day, but neither made any remarks about Kupec or Hansbrough. It is unclear if the former employees were the topic of a closed session meeting of the audit committee.

Meanwhile, one board member, who is also a donor, shared some personal insight on the potential impact of this latest scandal on overall fundraising for UNC Chapel Hill.

"Personally, it has no effect on my wish to continue to support education," said Fred Eshelman. "That opinion is not necessarily shared by others and I want to add quickly also that that does not mean that I'm trivializing some of the issues that have come up to date."